James Suckling (93)

Lots of cassis and floral aromas with hints of spice such as white pepper. Full body, silky tannins and a bright and clean finish. Goes on for minutes. Pretty Les Forts. Drink or hold.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2008 Cristal is a perfect wine, and Champagne simple does not get any better. This incredible wine offers a beautiful perfume of clean, crisp fruits, layers of complexity in its toasted spice and white flowers, and an utterly seamless, yet powerful style on the palate. This is a rich, decadent expression of Cristal yet it’s still crystalline and elegant, with no sensation of weight, and it just glides over the palate. Haut Couture at its finest and this majestic, profound, legendary Cristal can be drunk anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.

Distinguished in character, the Lucien Le Moine Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Cuvee Francois Salins Hospices Beaune 2008 presents an exceptional Burgundian Chardonnay, brought to us by the esteemed producer Lucien Le Moine. This Grand Cru epitomises the grandeur of one of the most highly regarded terroirs in Corton-Charlemagne.

The wine is the result of meticulous craftsmanship from the rich soils of Burgundy's Beaune region and the unique microclimate that lends the grapes their intense richness. Each vineyard's fruit is vinified separately to preserve the authentic expression of the terroir and then aged in oak barrels to enhance the complexity of character.

The Lucien Le Moine Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Cuvee Francois Salins Hospices Beaune 2008 showcases a harmonious balance of power and finesse with hints of citrus, orchard fruits, minerals, and a toasted oak finish. A treasure for connoisseurs, this Grand Cru is an embodiment of luxury, prestige, and the art of winemaking at its finest.

Wine Advocate (92)

The 2008 Nuits-Saint-Georges Villages from Domaine Leroy is beginning to drink very well, bursting from the glass with a complex bouquet of cinnamon, blood orange, peony, cassis, blackberry and raw cocoa. On the palate, the wine is sappy, expansive and medium-full, with an ample mid-palate, fine-grained tannins and a penetrating, saline finish—weightless but intense. In this vintage Bize-Leroy opted to combine the Nuits lieux-dits that she usually bottles separately: Aux Allots, Aux Bas de Combe and Lavières.

Discover the indulgent Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d'Or 2008, a quintessential embodiment of excellence from the famed Champagne house, Nicolas Feuillatte. With paramount attention to detail, this vintage was meticulously crafted in the prestigious vineyards of Epernay, in the heart of the Champagne region. Reflective of the 2008 harvest, this Champagne features distinct freshness and exceptional balance.

A sophisticated blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, its ageing process in the cellars achieves sublime depth and complexity. Celebrated for its elegance and refined fruity notes, it greets the palate with divine shades of white flowers, crisp apple, and gentle pear undertones. This Champagne exudes a golden hue, encased in a stunning, intricately designed bottle.

Revered among connoisseurs, every sip of Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d'Or 2008 is a testament to the beauty of masterful winemaking; it is the epitome of luxury that discerning drinkers revere and seek in a fine Champagne.

Vinous - Neal Martin (90)

The 2008 Pensées de Lafleur has a well-defined, smoke and truffle-tinged bouquet that is pretty and elegant, a wine that has clearly opened up in the last couple of years. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, very focused with gentle grip in the mouth. The fruit is on the darker side laced with smoke and black pepper, fanning out gently towards the finish that remains very composed. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 10-Year On tasting.

Wine Advocate (97)

It is hard to call Petrus a “sleeper of the vintage,” but the 2008 will merit more attention than most consumers would think. Low yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare resulted in only 25,000 bottles of this beauty. A wine of great intensity (possibly the most concentrated wine of the vintage), this 100% Merlot boasts a dark purple color as well as a sweet perfume of mocha, caramel, black cherries, black currants, earth and forest floor. Deep, unctuously textured, full-bodied and pure, it will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and should drink well for 25-30+ years.

Jancis Robinson (18.5)

Four barrels made from 103 year-old vines. The yield in 2008 was just 12 hl/ha (‘We lose money on it’, according to Laurent Ponsot). Very opulent with a hauntingly layered nose. Almost more reminiscent of a cherry liqueur than a wine. Great energy – rather like a healthy drink for its real spine of life. Subtle, sweet, wild and long but with excellent freshness. ‘Probably the sort of wine that was drunk 200 years ago,’ Ponsot claims.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

Unquestionably one of the gems in the vintage is the 2008 Pontet-Canet, which reminds me of the 2005 with its concentrated, deep, powerful style. Beautiful dark fruits, graphite, obvious minerality, and classic Pauillac lead pencil notes all emerge from this still youthful, full-bodied, and pure 2008 that’s 4-5 years away from maturity and will keep for 30+ years. Hats off to Alfred Tesseron for another awesome wine that ranks up with the crème de la crème of the vintage.

Vinous (92+)

Pale straw-yellow color. Peach, flowers, hazelnut, spices and smoky oak on the nose, with some musky mango and green papaya emerging with aeration. Then much tighter in the mouth than the nose suggests; in fact, this is quite dry and youthfully ungiving today, hinting only at fruit pit and showing firm acidity. But this long wine boasts plenty of underlying depth. I'd forget this one for five years.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

The 2008 Champagne Rare Rosé is straight-up sensational. Only the second time they’ve produced this cuvée, it offers a deep, full-bodied, powerful yet chiseled and laser-focused style carrying loads of wild strawberry fruit as well as notes of orange blossom, spice, and crushed rocks. Backward, austere, yet simply loaded with potential, it needs a solid 4-5 years of bottle age and will drink brilliantly for two decades or more.

Wine Enthusiast (90)

89-91 Barrel sample. With sweet caramel aromas, this is a jammy wine, all sweet fruits, richness and not much structure. A wine that shows warmth and ripe fruits.

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (92-94)

(in tank) Lemon and honeysuckle on the nose. At once rich and taut, with firm flavors of crystallized lemon peel and stone kept in check by strong acidity. This very tight, firmly constructed wine finishes with terrific grip. From vines averaging nearly 35 years of age.

Wine Advocate (100)

Disgorged in January 2019 with six grams per liter dosage, Salon's 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil is a striking wine, unwinding in the glass with scents of citrus oil, fresh bread, crisp green apple, white flowers, smoke and oyster shell. Full-bodied, layered and incisive, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly coiled core of fruit that's underpinned by a racy spine of acidity. Seamless and unerringly precise, it concludes with a long and penetratingly mineral finish. Immense though its potential for aging is, its intensity and balance make it pleasurable as well as persuasive, even today. Given the eye-watering price of this magnum-only release, I was determined to hold the wine to the highest possible standards, but it surpasses even the prodigious 1996 and surely ranks as the finest Salon since at least the 1970s. In short, this is a Blanc de Blancs that admits no argument.

Vinous (92)

(57% cabernet sauvignon, 20% carmenere, 10% merlot, 8% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc) Ruby-red. Musky redcurrant, cherry, spicecake and rose oil on the seductively perfumed nose. Silky, suave and fine-grained, in a distinctly elegant style. Red fruit and spice notes are complemented by a touch of bitter chocolate. The racy, dry, palate-staining finish shows full ripeness yet the wine comes off weightless. I'd bet on it rewarding at least another six or seven years of cellaring.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2008 Vinedo Chadwick is made up of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot. It offers up a sexy perfume of exotic spices, sandalwood, incense, rose petal, black currant, and blackberry. This sets the stage for a structured, concentrated, impeccably balanced wine that deftly combines elegance and power. It mandates 5-6 years of additional cellaring and will deliver prime drinking from 2016 to 2028+.